Tech partnership closes the safety gap by automatically stopping the excavator before striking utilities
Xwatch Safety Solutions and RodRadar have announced the industry’s first safety-grade solution for preventing underground utility strikes.
The integrated system automatically stops excavator bucket movement when subsurface utilities are detected during active excavation, making RodRadar’s zero-strike vision a reality.
RodRadar’s AI-driven Live Dig Radar (LDR) digging system uses ground-penetrating radar (GPR) embedded directly in an excavator bucket to detect underground utilities in real-time, during excavation, without reliance on pre-project utility data.
Xwatch Safety Solutions, part of the Hexagon family of companies, brings extensive experience in safety-grade excavator control to the partnership. The company’s technology provides height and slew control through proportional hydraulic intervention.
Through the RodRadar and Xwatch integration, LDR detected utilities trigger an automatic bucket stop via Xwatch’s safety-grade hydraulic control system to prevent it from hitting the utility.
“RodRadar has solved the detection problem during excavation,” explained Dan Leaney, Director of Sales at Xwatch Safety Solutions.
“By integrating their Live Dig Radar technology directly into our safety-grade hydraulic control, we can physically stop the machine before a strike occurs. That’s the difference between warning about a risk and actually preventing it.”
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The approach is similar to the automotive industry’s evolution from Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that merely warn drivers, to autonomous emergency braking that prevents collisions.
The integrated system takes direct action, delivering what RodRadar calls Stop-Before-Strike (SBS), while operators retain override capability.
“Xwatch’s proven track record in safety-grade hydraulic control makes them an ideal partner to bring our Zero-Strike vision to reality,” said Yuval Barnea, VP of Sales and Marketing at RodRadar.
“The integration further closes the safety gap, transforming LDR detections into automatic strike prevention and delivering the industry’s first-ever SBS solution. We envision this to be recommended and mandated by leading industry stakeholders, project owners and contractors.”
Underground utility strikes remain among the most persistent safety and financial challenges in construction.
In the United States, more than 400,000 incidents are reported annually costing the economy about $30 billion each year.
Xwatch Safety Solutions provides safety-grade excavator systems with more than 6,500 installations worldwide.
The company’s portfolio includes height limiters, slew restrictors, rated capacity indicators and advanced avoidance systems that provide proportional hydraulic control to protect operators, workers and infrastructure.
Xwatch is headquartered in the United Kingdom and operates as part of Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure and Geospatial division, alongside Leica Geosystems and IDS GeoRadar.
The company was acquired by Hexagon AB in April 2024.
